BOSTON – Long-time refugee and immigration advocate Seth Moulton, the sixth district Democratic congressman from Salem, will open a discussion on the topic Thursday with a panel of experts dealing with the region's response to Mideast refugee crisis.
A Marine Corps combat veteran who served in Iraq, Moulton has long supported refugees from the region, facing off with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker in November over whether to block additional Syrian refugees from coming to the state until screening procedures could be tightened. Baker, a Republican, raised security concerns following the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, where one of the perpetrators appeared to be a Syrian refugee.
BOSTON – The Massachusetts House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would create a state Office of Health Equity, which supporters said would work toward eliminating health disparities based on factors like race and income.
State Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, a Jamaica Plain Democrat and the bill's sponsor, described the move as "another chapter in our road to health reform" and said minorities face disproportionate rates of death and disability.
